Evil Eastender gives BBC top spot in Christmas TV battle

The period ratings hits Call The Midwife and Downton Abbey tied with 7.3 million viewers, although ITV1’s Downton was 1.3 million down on the previous year.

Overnight figures show EastEnders pulled in an average 9.4 million viewers for the climactic episode last night in which fearsome Branning, played by Jamie Foreman, keeled over and died from a heart attack. ITV’s Coronation Street was runner-up with 8.8 million.

Many had expected the period blockbusters – which have performed well on Sunday evenings – to lead the field, but soaps were still the strongest force. However viewing figures were down for many shows, with EastEnders slipping half a million on 2011, thought to be the lowest for Christmas Day for a decade.

Call The Midwife drew its smallest audience since launching earlier this year, and Doctor Who, on 7.6 million viewers, also had an average audience 1.3 million fewer than in 2011.

However the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special was up 300,000 year on year to 7.8 million viewers.

The Queen’s Christmas message was seen by 36,000 people in 3D on the BBC’s HD channel – the first time it has been broadcast in that format – although 6.3 million saw it on BBC1 and 2.2 million saw it on ITV1.

BBC1 had seven of the top 10 programmes, while ITV1 (which includes viewers for its +1 catch-up channel) accounted for the other three.

And BBC1 took 31.7 per cent of the audience from 6pm to 10.30pm with ITV1 landing 26.9 per cent.

However when “consolidated” figures are totted up they often tell a different story.

Last year Downton figures shot up when catch-up viewing was counted.